Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase the rate of tree planting in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Working with the Devolved Administrations, we are committed to significantly increasing tree planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025, in line with the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendations. We announced a £640 million Nature for Climate Fund to help drive up planting rates in England.
To support this, we have opened a consultation on an England Tree Strategy and welcome responses from the forestry sector and wider public. Responses will help us to understand what more could be done to encourage even more tree planting. Within this we hope to empower local communities, generating local support for, and where possible participation in, afforestation at a new scale.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that commercial and household waste continues to be collected in (a) Stoke-on-Trent, (b) Kidsgrove and (c) Talke.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Defra has worked with local government, other Government departments and the waste industry to produce and publish guidance to help local authorities manage their waste collection services and household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) during the Covid-19 outbreak. Defra officials also meet local authority and industry representatives weekly to share intelligence and to ensure that commercial and household waste can continue to be collected safely during the pandemic.
Weekly surveys indicate that, due to the hard work of those in the sector, nearly all English authorities are operating commercial and household waste collections as normal, with only a small percentage reporting minor disruption. Demand for commercial collections has dropped but services continue to operate for businesses that need them. The Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government and I wrote to local authorities on 5 May to thank those working to deliver waste services during the Covid-19 outbreak for the vital role they are playing in protecting the environment, public amenity and people’s health. We wrote a further letter on 28 June asking local authorities to ensure that as much access as possible is provided to HWRC services where this can be done safely.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support Chester zoo during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
A number of schemes have been made available to businesses and charities that should help them during this emergency. Zoos are eligible to apply for the Job Retention Scheme, VAT deferral, Business Rates Relief, the Business Interruption Loan schemes, the option to reclaim the costs of Statutory Sick Pay and grant funding of up to £25,000.
The Zoos Support Fund was launched on 4 May with £14 million being made available to zoos in England. In response to feedback from the zoo industry the fund will now be extended to provide support to the sector of up to £100 million. Further details on the new scheme and eligibility will be released over the coming weeks. We will be engaging with some of the major zoos and aquariums, including Chester Zoo, to assess future support options.
In England, zoos and aquariums have been able to reopen outdoor areas since 15 June, subject to social distancing measures being in place. From 4 July indoor areas such as cafés and exhibits will be able to follow suit. Allowing zoos to fully reopen is a vital step towards enabling them to cover some of the cost of animal care.
We continue to work with BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) to monitor concerns and gather insights from industry on current issues.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that financially vulnerable people in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire have access to (i) food and (ii) other necessities.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
We have received £16 million from a DCMS funding pot to help critical front-line services ensure that vulnerable people have the food that they need. We are working with FareShare and the Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) to deliver this, as well as other charitable organisations through the COVID-19 Food Charity Grant Scheme. They will use surplus food and purchased food from the supply chain to help at least 5,000 front-line charities, covering England and rural areas.
An additional £63 million has been confirmed by the Government to be distributed to local authorities in England to help those who are struggling to afford food and other essentials due to coronavirus.
Local authorities are already working hard to support those who are vulnerable and this additional funding will contribute to that work.
Many have existing mechanisms to provide this support in a way that suits the needs of their community. This includes provision of cash payments, food vouchers, or alternative means of support. We are currently finalising the amounts to be allocated to different Local Authorities.
This funding will sit alongside the £6.5 billion of extra support the Government is providing through the welfare system to ensure the most vulnerable in our society are protected throughout this crisis.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote British food producers based in Staffordshire.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
I am proud that, year after year, our farmers and food producers provide outstanding produce to high environmental standards. It is thanks to them that the UK has acquired a strong reputation for exceptional quality food and drink, produced to high standards of food safety, animal welfare and sustainability. Staffordshire is no exception to this, with its excellent food and drink, including, of course, Staffordshire Cheese, which has its own Geographical Indication.
The entire Agri-Food sector, from farm to fork, contributed £121 billion to the UK economy in 2018 and supports approximately 4 million jobs (14% of national employment). Our goal is to strengthen our support to increase demand for these products further, so that more people buy British both at home and abroad.
We welcome efforts from all parts of the food chain to promote and source British products and I am aware that supermarkets are already taking steps to do so. The Secretary of State also has regular discussions with supermarkets, retailers and other stakeholders in the food and drink industry covering a wide range of issues.
This week, Defra and the Department for International Trade have launched a package of support that will offer immediate support to help agriculture, food and drink businesses grow their trade activity overseas. This will help producers, manufacturers and agri-tech companies across the food supply chain, from farm to fork, and has been developed with insight from the devolved administrations, trade associations, businesses and DIT’s regional and international networks.
We are also working closely with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) as they develop consumer-facing marketing campaigns for the meat and dairy sectors. We will continue to engage with and support similar initiatives that highlight the qualities of British meat, dairy, and fruit and vegetable products, such as those produced in Staffordshire. We will always champion British food producers and want people to value local produce.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that financially vulnerable people have access to the food and necessities that they need in (a) Stoke-on-Trent, (b) Kidsgrove and (c) Talke.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
We have received £16 million from a DCMS funding pot to help critical front-line services ensure that vulnerable people have the food that they need. We are working with FareShare and the Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) to deliver this, as well as other charitable organisations through the COVID-19 Food Charity Grant Scheme. They will use surplus food and purchased food from the supply chain to help at least 5,000 front-line charities, covering England and rural areas.
An additional £63 million has been confirmed by the Government to be distributed to local authorities in England to help those who are struggling to afford food and other essentials due to coronavirus.
Local authorities are already working hard to support those who are vulnerable and this additional funding will contribute to that work.
Many have existing mechanisms to provide this support in a way that suits the needs of their community. This includes provision of cash payments, food vouchers, or alternative means of support. We are currently finalising the amounts to be allocated to different Local Authorities.
This funding will sit alongside the £6.5 billion of extra support the Government is providing through the welfare system to ensure the most vulnerable in our society are protected throughout this crisis.